S.Africa's ruling party orders Zuma to step down

South African president Jacob Zuma's days as Head of State appear numbered after his own party resolved to remove him from office at a marathon meeting that ended early on Tuesday morning.

South Africa's ruling party says parliament could elect a new president on Thursday if President Jacob Zuma leaves office.

Ace Magashule, the scribe of the ANC, had told a news conference that Zuma would respond by Wednesday on the decision to "recall" him. However, if Zuma refuses to resign he will then face a vote of no confidence in parliament next week.

In less than two months since becoming party head, Mr Ramaphosa has bolstered hopes of better times ahead in South Africa.

"Once you resist we are going to let you be thrown out through the vote of no confidence because you disrespect the organisation and you disobey it, therefore we are going to let you be devoured by the vultures", Mantashe said in a message to Zuma, according to the Independent.

"Whilst the ANC NEC is dealing with this matter to its finality, all ANCWL cadres are requested to be preoccupied with working towards uniting the ANC and making it an even more effective instrument of liberation in the hands of the people", secretary Meokgo Matuba said.

If Zuma agrees to step down, then Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will likely become president. The ANC expects Zuma to respond to its decision to replace him on Wednesday, its spokesperson Pule Mabe told Johannesburg-based state broadcaster SAFM.

He spoke respectfully of Zuma, saying the president had contributed to the struggle against apartheid and had not been "found guilty in any court of law" despite various scandals over the years.

South African police raided the family home of businessmen friends of President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday amid a probe into allegations that the family used their links with the president to win state contracts and influence Cabinet appointments.

However, ANC chiefs had made a decision to recall him given the "uncertainty and anxiety" in the country.

It involved the president's allegedly corrupt relationship with a wealthy family of Indian immigrants headed by three brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta - who built a business empire in mining, media, technology and engineering.

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